First IT Job Offer after 8 months of interviews

garysaxonjr

I finally got my first job offer 8 months of Interviews. Is this a normal time frame for someone new to get a job offer.

j.petrov

Congrats on the job, I'm sure you are relieved.

I got my first job in IT after interviewing for about a month or two. However I will say at that time I had a A+, Net+, and CCNA. I didn't have any luck until the CCNA.

kohr-ah

Took me a while to get my first one. About 5 months if I remember and I got lucky and someone took a shot with me that I met out of chance. So yep! Use it, get experience from it and keep moving forward.

Congrats!

Ivanjam

@garysaxonjr - congrats on your new job!

@j.petrov - care to share any trade secrets? I am in NYC too.

asurania

First Job in any field always takes the longest
Took me 6 Months for my first IT job (helpdesk/desktop support)
3 months for my first Server Admin Job
For my second server admin job which was more of a senior level....got it on my first interview...

Once you have experience and have a specialty which is in demand (VMware/Citrix/Networking/Exchange) at a intermediate or senior level
with some certification to back it up...usually they come find you...

coreyb80

Congrats OP. I've been looking for about 5 months myself so I know the feeling. I'm just waiting on that right opportunity for someone to give me the chance and I run with it.

petedude

garysaxonjr wrote: »

I finally got my first job offer 8 months of Interviews. Is this a normal time frame for someone new to get a job offer.

The quoted averages (pre-Great Recession, mind you) are 1 month of looking for every $10,000 you're earning. In tough times, for less-experienced folks or for career-changers, that number can vary wildly.

Qord

Took me about a year to actually get an IT job once I started actively applying for them. I had steady income, so I wasn't rushing it. I also live in a fairly rural area where the IT jobs are few and far between, saw a handful of repeats waiting for the same interviews. We all got a good laugh out of that.

j.petrov

@ivanjam

I applied for only entry level jobs, and didn't lie about my skills and knowledge. I was easily able to answer any technical questions that were asked in the interviews, which were definitely tailored to my knowledge. I would say that my biggest issue at the time was lack of Windows server experience. For any entry level job (helpdesk, desktop support) I think that is crucial. As soon as I finish the CCNA sec I'm going to go for the MCSA server 2012 cert just so I increase my knowledge base.

Also something that nobody really talks about is soft skills. You need to be personable and show some passion about what you are talking about. I used to work in recording studios so I was face to face with clients every single day. I think that experience helped me get a job quicker because I can talk to anyone and don't really get nervous.

Hope this helps.

pert

How "long" is a pointless metric to measure looking because it in no way creates an accurate picture of what is going on. How many jobs did you apply to, what level of position are you applying for, are you applying out of state, etc? Those are REAL metrics people can use to compare.

lsud00d

pert wrote: »

How "long" is a pointless metric to measure looking because it in no way creates an accurate picture of what is going on. How many jobs did you apply to, what level of position are you applying for, are you applying out of state, etc? Those are REAL metrics people can use to compare.

Don't forget the networking component, or internal promotions/hiring

zxshockaxz

I had been applying for around 7 or 8 months. Only got 1 interview.. Luckily I got the job

Legacy User

coreyb80 wrote: »

I'm just waiting on that right opportunity for someone to give me the chance and I run with it.

I read an article some time ago describing the problem with new graduates that can't find a job fresh out of school. Many of them said the same thing "noone wants to give me a chance". It basically said why should an employer go out of there way to give them a chance. Its always about business and if you can't convince them a reason why they should pay you to work for them then why should they. The article goes over how you must be aggressive and learn the skills of whatever job you are looking for. The more you tailor your skills and knowledge to job requirements and are able to display that aptitude of knowledge in the interview the better chance you have. Found it interesting and just wanted to share.

Ivanjam

@j.petrov - thanks for the heads up!

BradleyHU

it took me 3 years after my graduation...i was goin hard when i first got out for the first 4 months, then tooke other jobs and got complacent for a lil while, then started lookin again, and that was an additional 6 months...

Slithy

dmarcisco wrote: »

I read an article some time ago describing the problem with new graduates that can't find a job fresh out of school. Many of them said the same thing "noone wants to give me a chance". It basically said why should an employer go out of there way to give them a chance. Its always about business and if you can't convince them a reason why they should pay you to work for them then why should they. The article goes over how you must be aggressive and learn the skills of whatever job you are looking for. The more you tailor your skills and knowledge to job requirements and are able to display that aptitude of knowledge in the interview the better chance you have. Found it interesting and just wanted to share.

However, this cutthroat approach to hiring is not always going to work out to the advantage of the employer. You may save short term costs of training, but if there is a shortage in skilled labor you may end up paying much higher wages. This is not to say that the scenario is bad for the individual who is aggressively adapting. If there are less applicants, they have better odds of getting a job and better leverage to ask for more money.

Legacy User

@Slithy I agree with you. Ideally the entry level candidate would get lucky and find a place that sees there potential and willing to hold there hand and mold them for a position but those jobs are hard to come by. In reality most places I've came across expect you to hit the ground running because you are probably replacing someone else that quit/fired/promoted and they need someone to keep the ball rolling.

I know my brother has graduated 4 years ago with a bachelors in finance with honors and all of that good stuff but til this day he still has not found a job in his field. He keeps saying noone wants to give him a chance. I asked what do they ask him in the interview and he said they would assess his skills by asking if ever worked with x software doing a number of things and he says no. I told him why doesn't he learn the software he gets asked about often and just download the demo. Find a training video and figure out how it works. He's thick headed and doesn't listen so I stop trying to give suggestions.

The point I'm getting too if you make it a point to learn your craft build test environments and be able to describe in depth the level of work you are doing and explain how it could be applied to the position. You will have a better a shot of getting a call back compared to someone that waits around looking for a hand out.